Etihad Airways to increase capacity to Australia

Etihad Airways will add three weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Sydney to operate a double-daily schedule from 6 February 2017.

The morning departure from
Abu Dhabi – EY450 – and the afternoon departure from Sydney – EY451 – will
increase from four to seven flights per week.

This enhancement to the
airline’s Sydney schedule comes with the move by strategic partner Virgin
Australia to shift its Australia to Abu Dhabi operation from Sydney to Perth
from 9 June 2017.

Expanding the codeshare
agreement, Etihad Airways will add its EY code to Virgin Australia’s new three
weekly Perth-Abu Dhabi flights.

The combined impact of the
additional Sydney capacity and new codeshare with Virgin Australia is an
increase in the UAE flag carrier’s Australian footprint from a total of 42 to
45 weekly flights.

To maintain schedule
continuity, Etihad Airways will operate its three new weekly Sydney services at
the same timings as Virgin Australia’s current Sydney-Abu Dhabi flights, on
which Etihad Airways has placed its EY code since they began in February 2011.

Etihad Airways’ Chief
Executive Officer, Peter Baumgartner, said: “Australia is a critical part of
our network, and we will continue to add capacity in order to meet the growing
two-way demand for business and leisure travel.

“The allocation
of our newest equipment, the A380 and B787, to all four Australian gateways,
and investment of our next-generation product and service offering demonstrate
our commitment to this highly competitive market.”

Mr Baumgartner also
highlighted the benefits for travellers of the new codeshare with Virgin Australia
and capacity increase on the Perth route.

“From mid-2017, business and
leisure travellers on the Perth route will enjoy the convenience of 10 weekly non-stop
flights to our Abu Dhabi hub and seamless connectivity to more than 55 cities
across Etihad Airways’ global network.”

Among the new two-way connected
markets for Perth are Athens, Beirut, Geneva, Istanbul, and a number of African
destinations including Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Khartoum and Nairobi.

The additional Sydney
flights will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER, the aircraft type
operating the current EY450/451 pattern. The aircraft is configured with eight
seats in First Class, 40 in Business Class and 280 in Economy Class.